Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1887-11-25
REPORT OF SURVEY
FOR RAILROAD ROUTE PROM THE HEAD
OF BUDD'S INLET TO THE CHE
HALLS VADLEN.
Nude by Direction Of The
OLYMPIA BOARD OF TRADE.

Of Olympia:
DEAR SIR: | have the honor here
with to submit report Of the prellml-
nary survey and examination OF a
railroad route from Olympia to the
Chehalis river, with a map and profile
of the same, estimation Of timber, &c.
commenced the survey at the west
end of Fourth street bridge, and run
the line as it is located on the map.
/ From Fourth street to the point OF
bluff on the west side of the mouth of
Percival creek and the crossing of the
Olympia and Chehalis Valley Railroad
line, distance of 5000 feet will re-
quire trustle, but the water at high
tide is not more than five to seven feet
deep, and this section can be filled
after the road is completed, if desired
as the road-bed can easily be protected
from wash on the water side.
Along the west side of Percival
creek, distance of $500 feet, the for
nation is sand and gravel. The side
slope is from 90 to 40 degrees across
the line towards the creek, and the
creek bed is from five to twenty feet
below the line as located. The dis
lance descended is 115 feet, to the
level of tide water, and liz feet to the
level of the track at the crossing of the
Olympia and Chehalis Valley Railroad,
and the grade will be 20 feet per mile.
A solid rOad-bed can be built not sub
ject to wash from the stream, and no
curves necessary greater than eight de-
grees. This elevation reaches the
highest point between Budd's Inlet
and Black Lake. The land along to
the east of the swamp, at the head of
the lake, and east of the lake to the
upper crossing of Black river, 22,17O
feet, is nearly level, gravel and sand
formation, and the grade will be 0.
Black river swamp is l,l5O feet wide
and will require $50 feet OF pile trcstle
and 400 feet of three to six foot fill
The swamp land is composed of vege-
table deposit, nearly % feet deep, mid
way between the sides, and runs grad
ually shallower to each shore. 1t is
very compact, and will firmly support
piles when driven to the gravel bot
tom beneath the deposit. The rise of
the river in the winter is about four
feet, covering the surface one foot.
The profile represents the line of
gravel beneath the vegetable deposit.
The river surface is level with the
water in Black Lake, which is ITO feet
above tide water. West of the river
the land is smooth, level, gravelly
plain $500 feet, with small timber, re-
quiring but little expense to construct
q road-bed; thence the surface raises
very regularly SO feet to Waddell
creek canyon, distance 10000 feet and
the grade will not be more than 30
feet per mile and no curves greater
than five degrees, no cuts or fills more
than two to five feet. Waddell creek
canyon is 500 feet across, at the point
selected for the line, which is the mar
rowest point and the best approaches,
and it will require $50 feet of trestle
50 feet high, $40 feet 33 feet high, and
27O feet 10 feet high. The banks are
firm gravel, and suitable timber for all
of the bents of trestle grows on the
ground where the road would cross.
West of the creek the line runs
along bluff l 500 feet side cut, thence
on a nearly level bench, with mounds
two to four feet high, scattered over it,
where is reached the highest point on
the line, 2O6 feet above tide water
The ground from here commences a
gentle and very regular descent, along
to the west of Nina Prairie and Ba-
ker's creek bottom, to the lower cross
ing of Black river, distance Of 5000
feet, with descent of 1O5 fect-2l
feet per mile nearly.
Black river swamp, Mt the lower
crossing, is 800 feet wide, and will re-
quire 800 feet of trestle and 100 feet OF
fill, three to six feet. The formation
is similar to that at the upper cross
ing, and the basin and depth to solid
ground very nearly the same.
The river at this crossing is nearly
100 feet wide; loose gravel and sand
bottom, not more than six feet below
the level of the swamp. The current
is sluggish and no drift or force OF
water. to prevent pileing across the
stream the same as the swamp. South
of Black river the country is generally
level, clay loan and gravel formation,
and forms part of the Chehalis river
bottom. The land is tlmbered mostly
with fir of large growth and with the
exception of two sloughs, 100 feet each,
is above high water, distance-1,7 200
feet to the Chehalis river.
At the point where the line inter
sects the river, large slough enters
the stream which has once been the
old channel. The slough is 100 feet
wide at the mouth and 200 to GOO feet
wide 400 feet up the river, and. the
west line of the slough is nearly in
line with the course of the road, fur
nishing a convenient chance to load
cars from logs held in the slough,
which is II miles long, SO feet wide at
the upper end, and when the brush is
cleared away from its banks the
slough would hold fifteen or twenty
million feet of logs secure from any
danger of losing them. At the upper
end of the slough the Chehalis river
has firm and high banks, with large
timber upon them, furnishing secure
anchorage for boom to conduct logs
into the slough.
Up Waddell creek, side track, or
branch road, can easily be extended
six miles, reaching three hundred mil
lion feet of logs, within two miles Of
the line, and the road would be an
easy grade and no expensive work in
construction; also a branch can as cas-
lily be extended up Baker creek seven
or eight miles, reaching a much larger
amount of timber, and the main line
and these branches without the sup
plies from the Chehalis river, receive
the following total per mile of con-
structiOn; Main line, 20 miles long
five hundred million or twenty-five
million per mile of road; Waddell
creek branch, six miles long three
hundred million or fifty million per
mile of road; Baker creek branch
eight miles long, four hundred mil
lion or fifty million per mile Of road
And the supplies of logs to the main
line from the Chehalis river would be
some billions of feet which would be